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Accidents · NTSB CHI86FEV04 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Amateur-built QUICKIE accident near Danville, Illinois, August 3, 1986

On August 3, 1986 at about 11:30 pm local time, a amateur-built QUICKIE, registered N24RP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Danville, Illinois (Vermilion County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
August 3, 1986 · about 11:30 pm local time
Place
Danville, Illinois · Vermilion County · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
1 person had minor injuries.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Amateur-built QUICKIE
Registration
N24RP · registry record · serial 0155
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

AFTER PERFORMING HI SPEED TAXI TESTS, THE PLT OF A NEW HOME BUILT ACFT TOOK OFF ON THE ACFT'S 1ST FLT. AFTER TAKING OFF,HE REALIZED SOMETHING WAS WRONG; HOWEVER, BY THEN, THE ACFT WAS PAST THE DEP END OF THE RWY AT 50 TO 75 FT AGL & WOULD NOT CLIMB ANY HIGHER. THE PLT TRIED TO TURN, BUT IN A TURN, THE NOSE WOULD DROP. THE ACFT WAS SOON APCHG A POWER LINE, SO THE PLT 'CUT' THE ENG POWER & THE ACFT CRASHED IN A BEAN FIELD. AN INV REVEALED THE ACFT WAS LOADED WITH THE CENTER-OF-GRAVITY (CG) 1.93 INCHES AHEAD OF THE FORWARD LIMIT.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.

The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English

Pilot

  • Certificate: private
  • Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
  • Flight time: 240 hours in all; 4 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 149 as pilot in command
  • Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: frt

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 6 hours
  • Last inspection: annual inspection, July 11, 1986; 2 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 650 lb
  • Seats: 1
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Onan JLO 600 (piston); 0 hours total

The flight

  • Departed from: DNV at 11:20 pm
  • Destination: DNV
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 3, 5,400 ft by 100 ft

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Visibility: 15 statute miles
  • Sky: clear
  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1

Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report

The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.

Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.